The present invention relates to an assembly for sweeping and thatching turf, and more particularly, to a rotatable sweeper brush assembly having spring type thatching members.
Rotary sweepers shown by the prior art include single rotary brush sweepers and multiple brush sweepers. The multiple brush sweepers preferably include a ground engaging sweeper brush and an oppositely rotating brush or impeller which receives the particulate material from the sweeper brush and propels the material through an opening in the sweeper housing into a hopper. A commercial multiple brush sweeper of the type just described is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,284, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
The prior art is also aware of turf thatchers which are moved over the ground and which have thatching members in the form of fingers extending into the turf for raking or scratching the turf and removing the thatch therefrom. These thatchers can be towed by a tractor and are commonly powered to be dragged over the turf in the thatching process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotatable brush type sweeper assembly with a plurality of spring type thatching members for cleaning turf in an improved fashion. Another object of the invention is to provide a spring thatching element which may be easily installed on or removed from the rotatable brush sweep assembly without dismantling it. A further object of the invention is to provide a construction where the thatching elements and brush sweeper assembly cooperate to improve the operation of the thatching elements.